Samuel In, who was placed on leave in May from the city's Building and Safety Department, advised a property owner to pay $15,000 to get work on an unpermitted apartment unit approved, the lawsuit alleges.

A former building inspector who has come under scrutiny in a bribery investigation at Los Angeles City Hall allegedly advised a landlord in 2009 to pay $15,000 to resolve a permitting dispute, according to a fraud lawsuit filed last year.